Morning Buzz: Sydney news, traffic and weather for Friday, August 18

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Buzz for Friday, August 18. It’ll be a cooler one today with an expected max temperature of around 18 and a slight chance of a shower this morning. Enjoy your day!

Barcelona: Pedestrians mowed down in deadly van terrorist attack

A driver swerved a van onto a pedestrian area in Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas district, ramming into crowds and leaving at least 12 people dead and more than 80 injured scattered along a stretch of tree-shaded sidewalk.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the group's Amaq propaganda outlet.

One of the two suspected attackers involved has been killed in a shootout with police on the outskirts of the city, according to local newspaper La Vanguardia. Read more (via SMH)

Hanson burqa stunt ignites firestorm over religious freedoms

The Opposition praise Senator Brandis after he repudiated Senator Pauline Hanson for wearing a burqa during question time at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday 17 August 2017. Fedpol. Photo: Andrew Meares

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has triggered a firestorm around religious freedoms, after wearing a burqa into Parliament, a stunt that has united all sides of politics in condemnation.

The Queensland senator, accompanied by colleague Brian Burston, entered the Senate dressed in a black Islamic dress shortly after question time began on Thursday afternoon - her senator pin still on display. Read more

Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash reveals she has dual citizenship

Fiona Nash. Photo: Andrew Meares

A third Turnbull government minister has been caught up in the dual citizenship crisis that has rocked parliament, with Nationals senator Fiona Nash advising she is a British citizen by descent.

Just moments before parliament rose for a two-week break, the deputy Nationals leader told the Senate that she had received preliminary advice from the British Home Office on Monday that she had received dual-citizenship at birth through her Scottish-born father. Read more

Sydney suburbs with highest mortgage repayments revealed

There are more than 300 Sydney suburbs where it is typical for home loan repayments to top $30,000 a year.

The city's mortgage bill hotspots have been revealed by suburb-level census data provided to Fairfax Media by the Bureau of Statistics.

Dawes Point, adjacent to the southern pylons of the Harbour Bridge, had Sydney's highest median mortgage repayment of $62,400 a year. Read more

Murdered staffer's family seeks land-clearing code delay

The family of Glen Turner, the environment compliance officer murdered in 2014, says new native vegetation codes will diminish "the value of his life", and have appealed to the government to delay their introduction.

In a letter sent to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton obtained by Fairfax Media, Mr Turner's widow Alison McKenzie and his sister Fran Pearce said the codes would give farmers "the opportunity of a lifetime ... to clear what they like and get away with it". Read more

'It's BS': Titans skipper fires up in defence of Neil Henry

Gold Coast Titans skipper Ryan James has pleaded with club officials to stand by Neil Henry, taking aim at recent reports suggesting young halves Ash Taylor and Kane Elgey want the coach sacked.

In an emotional press conference following the Titans' 30-8 loss to Parramatta on Thursday night, Henry reiterated his desire to continue coaching the club amid strong suggestions he may have just coached his last game of NRL. Read more